Spielberg’s Golden Touch Lights Up ‘Glimmer,’ ‘My Uncle Rafael’

Thanks to a bidding war, white-hot up-and-coming scripter Carter Blanchard has landed a six-figure deal that puts his new spec script Glimmer at Dreamworks. The flick is described as having both found footage and time travel elements, both of which are “near and dear to Dreamworks co-founder Steven Spielberg,” notes TheWrap.com.

Found footage is particularly popular right now, with hit flicks ranging from the Paranormal Activity horror series to the superhero drama Chronicle, among many others.

Blanchard worked on an earlier draft of Immortals and has several other scripts set up around town, including Near Death at Fox Searchlight.

“Six bidders were in the mix” for Glimmer as the bidding war heated up, reports Deadline.com. “Dreamworks got a look at it and word is that Spielberg called the writer… and said he wanted to make it.” (That’s pretty much the call every aspiring screenwriter wants to receive.)

Spielberg has also burnished the fortunes of another filmmaker on the rise. Marc Fusco is a protégé and former assistant to the blockbuster director-producer. He was Spielberg’s personal assistant during production of Amistad, The Lost World and Saving Private Ryan—and was present for the formation of Dreamworks.

Fusco’s new film My Uncle Rafael is a culture-clash comedy starring Vahik Pirhamzei in the title role with Rachel Blanchard, John Michael Higgins and Missi Pyle.